On the Exhibition "Secret Life of Heritage: 70 Years of Systematic Conservation and Restoration Activities in Croatia"

U 2018. godini, Europskoj godini kulturne baštine, obilježavajući 70 godina svojega djelovanja, Hrvatski restauratorski zavod u zagrebačkom Muzeju za umjetnost i obrt upriličio je izložbu Tajni život baštine – 70 godina sustavne konzervatorsko-restauratorske djelatnosti u Hrvatskoj. Tekst donosi osvrt na postav izložbe koji je – u prostorno podijeljenim tematskim cjelinama izabranim kulturnim dobrima, fotografijama, multimedijom te interaktivnim uključivanjem posjetitelja, kao i kratkim tekstualnim objašnjenjima – prezentirao baštinsko naslijeđe interpretirano u kontekstu konzervatorsko- restauratorske struke. Stručnjaci, kojima to nije primarna djelatnost, realizirali su suvremeni izložbeni projekt u kojem je najveći izazov bio prilagođavanje jezika struke jeziku razumljivom svakom posjetitelju.This text highlights just one part of the complexity of the exhibition Secret Life of Heritage: 70 Years of Systematic Conservation and Restoration Activities in Croatia, organised by the Croatian Conservation Institute at the end of 2018. The exhibition was a central event as part of the activities by which the Institute marked the European Year of Cultural Heritage, and its 70th anniversary. To the average connoisseur of the Croatian cultural scene, it must have seemed puzzling that the Institute was telling the story of its work through an exhibition as the primary medium of museum communication, and not, for example, through a monograph or a documentary. Isn’t it intriguing that an exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Crafts (MUO) was accomplished by an institution that has no experience with exhibitions, let alone a museum, beyond its scope of work? However, it turned out that the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb was the ideal location for this exhibition, as the conservation and restoration profession has its origin precisely in the arts and crafts. Furthermore, it must be emphasized that – through the graduation of textual legends, contextualization of exhibits, interactive involvement of visitors, use of museographic aids or narrative discourse – the Institute carried out a contemporary exhibition project in which the greatest challenge was to adapt the language of the profession to each visitor, which the creators of the exhibition managed to accomplish almost flawlessly. They did not even hesitate to present the most attractive exhibits as a kind of footnote of what they wanted and could talk about – their profession. It was evident from each part of the exhibition that behind it was knowledge and hard work. In addition to the team that designed it, the accompanying exhibition brochure lists a number of enthusiastic employees of the Institute who were involved in its production, and it is not impossible to imagine how their greatest motivation was to show the public what their job is and how they do it. The richness of the spoken language used to communicate with visitors certainly proves this. A significant part was constituted by the labels that addressed the visitor directly, almost amicably, serving primarily the immediate and unobtrusive transfer of knowledge. In any case, the Secret Life of Heritage exhibition created an “atmosphere that encourages learning”, which is quite an achievement. One might therefore wonder whether the fact that the exhibition does not have a printed catalogue, or any kind of print edition in which the memory of its discourse would be preserved, is a drawback. But to answer this question right away: it is almost impossible to imagine a print edition that would reflect all the complexity of the content and applied presentation solutions, once again confirming the thesis that the exhibition is a specific medium of communication, a kind of artefact whose quality depends primarily on the knowledge, talent and imagination of its creators